Poultry Lice symptoms question...

[chicksurreal]

grew up with yard chickens... have had my own 50 years... am 82... never had much mite/lice problem . recall Father painting roosts with something (long beore Sevin) and heat from body would make fumes. It might have been "sheep dip" that vets ought to know about. Any old-timers who remembers? also burn wood and have ash heap for them to wallow in. lady friend also took in a new rooster who has them. like anything good clean surroundings, diet, work wonders.

We've never had them here either, this roo is a rescue from my MIL and I am very upset with her lack of caring about her chickens.

We keep our coops very clean and our chickens dustbathe all the time. I've never seen any evidence of mites or lice or anything on them. I'm really glad he was not able to be near the rest of the flock, but I'm going to keep an even closer eye on them now.

Thanks very much for the suggestions, I'm really wanting him to be healthy and happy. I want to get some hens for him, but that can't happen until he is healthy and clean.

 

[Michael Apple]

grew up with yard chickens... have had my own 50 years... am 82... never had much mite/lice problem . recall Father painting roosts with something (long beore Sevin) and heat from body would make fumes. It might have been "sheep dip" that vets ought to know about. Any old-timers who remembers? also burn wood and have ash heap for them to wallow in. lady friend also took in a new rooster who has them. like anything good clean surroundings, diet, work wonders.

When I was a kid my dad used Black Leaf 40. That is what you may remember. It was nicotine sulfate, and when sparingly used on roosts, it emitted a minute vapor from the warmth of the roosting bird, which killed mites. A shady spot under a tree with soil loose enough for birds to excavate was always where our birds chose to dust. I still have an area under trees where they prefer that to this day.

 

[crazyfeathers]

Regarding mites/lice because of unsanitary conditions is an untrue statement as I the neat freak and over cleaner of the coop have had mite issues a few times on a few of my birds, mind you not a total infestation. I have a good friend who uses the deep litter method and only cleans his coop once a year (yuck) has never had mite or lice problems. We have lots of sparrows, pigeons, and other birds in the barn and flying into the run, I have read they can be carriers of lice/mites. So no matter how much cleaning one does there is no way to rid nature.. I check my girls monthly, provide sand and wood ash for dust bathing and use sevin on their roosting poles. Best of luck with your rooster you will get some great advice from some of the members on BYC.

 

[crazyfeathers]

Black leaf 40 was banned in 1992 although it was effective as a pesticide it was very hazardous to handle.

 

[chicksurreal]

Regarding mites/lice because of unsanitary conditions is an untrue statement as I the neat freak and over cleaner of the coop have had mite issues a few times on a few of my birds, mind you not a total infestation. I have a good friend who uses the deep litter method and only cleans his coop once a year (yuck) has never had mite or lice problems. We have lots of sparrows, pigeons, and other birds in the barn and flying into the run, I have read they can be carriers of lice/mites. So no matter how much cleaning one does there is no way to rid nature.. I check my girls monthly, provide sand and wood ash for dust bathing and use sevin on their roosting poles. Best of luck with your rooster you will get some great advice from some of the members on BYC.

Thanks!

I know it can happen to anyone, even if they keep everything very clean. We have many sparrows, doves, pigeons and many other wild birds here and haven't had any issues with our existing flock (keeping my fingers crossed!). I just feel bad for him because the problem has obviously been going on for a while for him to be in this condition. Hopefully all the good advice I'm getting here will help him get back into good shape. He's only a year old and I'd love to see him be healthy and happy!

 

[Michael Apple]

Black leaf 40 was banned in 1992 although it was effective as a pesticide it was very hazardous to handle.

Well, unfortunately the nanny state mentality has many useful things banned because of the less intelligent in society. I used it, and it was very effective, birds never got sick, and followed label directions my Dad warned me about as a kid.

 

[Michael Apple]

If it may be of assistance to you, chicksurreal, I've been using a routine that has kept mites off my birds for a long time, minus the occasional Knemidocoptes mites that get on the legs that I treat with Nustock or sulfur salve before they get bad. I clean out coops every 3-4 months, removing all shavings and shop vacuuming the coops. I then disinfect with activated Oxine AH in my garden sprayer, let dry, then use something I've found very effective compared to other weak permethrin type concentrates being marketed which mites are showing resistance to. It is Ravap EC (emulsified concentrate). It is Rabon-Vapona labeled for use on poultry as well as premises. I stagger use of it with Cylence or Permectrin II. I spray the ceiling, walls, floors, all sides of roosts, nests, cracks, and crevices. I let dry, add new shavings, and allow birds access to the coops again.

I treat roosts again about every month and treat scaly leg only occasionally in some old birds. There is also a Rabon WP, but is much more expensive and not as practical. Makes a great roost paint though. I have tried a number of things over the years including orange oil insecticides, DE, neem, mint and clove oil insecticides, and none of them do squat for mites and lice. Some may kill in time, but have no residual strength to kill hatching eggs of ectoparasites. Just thought I'd mention it. Good luck with your new rooster. It sounds like he found a good, new home.

 

[chicksurreal]

If it may be of assistance to you, chicksurreal, I've been using a routine that has kept mites off my birds for a long time, minus the occasional Knemidocoptes mites that get on the legs that I treat with Nustock or sulfur salve before they get bad. I clean out coops every 3-4 months, removing all shavings and shop vacuuming the coops. I then disinfect with activated Oxine AH in my garden sprayer, let dry, then use something I've found very effective compared to other weak permethrin type concentrates being marketed which mites are showing resistance to. It is Ravap EC (emulsified concentrate). It is Rabon-Vapona labeled for use on poultry as well as premises. I stagger use of it with Cylence or Permectrin II. I spray the ceiling, walls, floors, all sides of roosts, nests, cracks, and crevices. I let dry, add new shavings, and allow birds access to the coops again.

I treat roosts again about every month and treat scaly leg only occasionally in some old birds. There is also a Rabon WP, but is much more expensive and not as practical. Makes a great roost paint though. I have tried a number of things over the years including orange oil insecticides, DE, neem, mint and clove oil insecticides, and none of them do squat for mites and lice. Some may kill in time, but have no residual strength to kill hatching eggs of ectoparasites. Just thought I'd mention it. Good luck with your new rooster. It sounds like he found a good, new home.

Thank you very much! We're new to chicken keeping, this is our first flock (not counting our new rooster) and we've only had them for about ten months with no pest problems yet. I'm sure we will encounter issues along the way and am so grateful that long time chicken keepers are willing to share what they've learned through experience.

We clean our coop once a week and add new pine shavings, but I haven't used a shop vac to completely clean it. That's a great idea!

I just ordered some Nustock today, should have it in a few days. After seeing this poor roo, I am of the firm belief that prevention is very much worth the effort. Thanks again, I appreciate your help very much.

 

[Michael Apple]

Thank you very much! We're new to chicken keeping, this is our first flock (not counting our new rooster) and we've only had them for about ten months with no pest problems yet. I'm sure we will encounter issues along the way and am so grateful that long time chicken keepers are willing to share what they've learned through experience.

We clean our coop once a week and add new pine shavings, but I haven't used a shop vac to completely clean it. That's a great idea!

I just ordered some Nustock today, should have it in a few days. After seeing this poor roo, I am of the firm belief that prevention is very much worth the effort. Thanks again, I appreciate your help very much.

You're welcome. If he came from a neglectful environment, I'd keep him separate for at least 1 month from your existing birds to make sure he has nothing contagious, give vitamin-electrolyte-probiotic powder in his water 3 days a week or according to the label, and worm him. Stress can bring on a moult, so he may be moulting at this time too. If he is not moulting, Safeguard liquid (Fenbendazole) will rid all worms except tapeworms at .5 cc/ml given orally with a no-needle syringe. It is found in most feed stores. Worm once, then again in 10 days. If the rooster is moulting, and intestinal worms are a problem, you could use Coxiworm or Worminator as both use Pyrantel which is safe during moult. Hake's carries those:

Coxiworm: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies....in_page=product_info&cPath=38&products_id=894

Worminator: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies....in_page=product_info&cPath=21&products_id=804

 

[chicksurreal]

You're welcome. If he came from a neglectful environment, I'd keep him separate for at least 1 month from your existing birds to make sure he has nothing contagious, give vitamin-electrolyte-probiotic powder in his water 3 days a week or according to the label, and worm him. Stress can bring on a moult, so he may be moulting at this time too. If he is not moulting, Safeguard liquid (Fenbendazole) will rid all worms except tapeworms at .5 cc/ml given orally with a no-needle syringe. It is found in most feed stores. Worm once, then again in 10 days. If the rooster is moulting, and intestinal worms are a problem, you could use Coxiworm or Worminator as both use Pyrantel which is safe during moult. Hake's carries those:

Coxiworm: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies....in_page=product_info&cPath=38&products_id=894

Worminator: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies....in_page=product_info&cPath=21&products_id=804

Thanks!

I don't think he's moulting because the feathers are broken off, with part of the shaft still in his skin. This has happened on his chest and over the entire area under his tail and around to the front with all the skin very red and irritated looking.

I'm sure he's never been wormed, but I didn't know if we should treat him for all his problems at once or one at a time, I didn't want to overwhelm his system. I've been putting electrolytes in his water because he's been stressed by the move. We'll definitely worm him.

He can't ever be with our other flock because of his size. He's huge and our flock is made up entirely of Silver Spangled Hamburgs, I didn't want him to accidently injure the pullets or fight with the existing cockerel in that flock. I do want to get him some hens that can handle his size, but that will have to wait until he's healthy.

Thanks very much for the tips on worming. We're getting ready to worm our other flock for the first time as well. They don't have any visible signs, but I've read that all chickens get worms and it should be done regularly.